Second Chance
by jakiratsenekazu
Summary: Tony wonders why Bruce doesn't hate him. One-shot. Rated T for swearing.


Tony Stark never gives a shit.

In fact, Tony never had to. Yet he always felt like he needed to impress Bruce Banner.

Why should he have to? Tony Stark has it all. He is, after all, a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. However, this was not enough when it came to Bruce.

This is what it came down to when it was just Bruce and Tony in the lab. After the incident with Loki, Tony had invited Bruce to stay with him in Stark Tower and, after much persuasion, he agreed. Tony would usually drag Bruce to his personal lab, enjoying the reactions that Bruce would give to the advanced technology that he could never get his hands on. They would usually enjoy trading witty batter while working on whatever the Hell Stark decided to work on that day. Everything always seemed to go peachy, them enjoying each other's company as they worked through the night.

Today was different.

Today, Tony could not get Banner to pay attention to him. He would do his usually thing which usually involved prodding him with either pointy objects or sexual dialogue. This would usually get Banner to react in a small manner; it would make him roll his eyes at the most.

That did not happen today.

Despite all of Tony's best efforts, Bruce refused to give him the satisfaction. He did not acknowledge him. He just continued looking through his microscope and recorded data.

Tony was not amused.

Bruce did not comment when Tony walked out of the lab in a huff. In fact, he continued blatantly ignoring everything in the surrounding area. Today, it was just him and his research.

His engrossment with the latest project kept him from seeing Tony walk in an hour later with a bottle of scotch and alcohol on his breath.

"Brucey! You've got some 'splainin' to do!"

Finally, Bruce let out a sigh, yet he continued looking through his data.

"Tony, it's 11 in the morning. Are you drunk? Seriously?"

Tony smirked. He was finally getting his attention.

"Aw, come on, Bruce! It's 5 o' clock somewhere!" Tony said as he sat in a chair and wheeled towards him. "Besides, I only had, like, 3 scotches. I can go forever."

Bruce did not answer, much to Tony's chagrin. Tony removed himself difficulty from his chair and sat on the table Bruce was working on, trying to get into his line of sight.

"…Hey, Bruce?"

"No, Tony."

"You didn't even let me ask my question!"

"I'm too busy to deal with you right now. Will you get off? This is delicate work."

Tony frowned and got up, walking a few feet away until he stopped.

"Bruce, why don't you hate me?"

This got Bruce's attention. He paused and looked up from his microscope.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Did I stutter? I asked, 'why don't you hate me?'"

Bruce frowned and removed his glasses, cleaning them off with his coat in his own nervous habit. "For poking at me? Trying to make me 'Hulk out'? Honestly, Tony. You of all people should know that it takes much more than that to…"

"I'm not talking about that, Bruce!" Tony interrupted. Bruce paused, looking completely calm albeit the split-second of shock striking his face. Tony sighed and turned away, waving his arm dismissively.

"Oh, just forget it." He muttered and started walking towards the door.

"No, now I'm curious. Why would you ask that?" Tony stopped and turned abruptly.

"Are you fucking serious? It was my shit that was sent to contain you, experiment on you, torture you, fucking kill you!" Bruce flinched slightly and returned quickly to his cool demeanor. "You're a genius, Banner. You can read. My name was on every single one of those machines. Why do you put up with me? Why don't you hate me?"

It was true that Tony Stark had agreed to sell the U.S. Military his weapons. He sent out thousands upon thousands a day, signing each contract personally. Names didn't matter to him. Nothing mattered to him except the gained reputation and pay-grade. God, he was like that guy during World War II. What was his name, Adolf Eichmann. The man who looked at names, names of human beings, and made sure that each name was sent off to be executed. Bruce Banner had just been a name that Tony Stark signed off to kill. Maybe that's why Steve hated him.

Now, Tony Stark had changed for the better; cancelled weapon-agreements, became a power company, and even attempted to make peace with those he could help. However, it was still nerve-wracking to discover that he had to meet the man that he had signed off as dead. Doctor Robert Bruce Banner. He never knew how Banner would react to seeing the man behind the name that probably caused him anguish and nightmares. So, Tony did what he did best: he acted like himself. He was surprised at how Banner accepted his handshake and that thought has never disappeared from the front of his mind.

Bruce looked at Tony and placed his glasses softly on the bridge of his nose, pushing it up towards his eyes. He finally dared himself a glance at the man and saw the torture that played in his eyes.

Bruce Banner remembered the first time he saw Tony Stark. He remembered looking up at the sound of Tony's voice that interrupted his explanations to the rest of the "Avengers". He stood, struck by nervousness, by fear. The man whose name plagued his mind was standing in the flesh before him. He listened as Tony praised his knowledge, at how he had said he was a fan of his work and _then_ of the Hulk. He had even raised his hand in greeting when he introduced himself.

Bruce didn't know what to think of Tony Stark. All of his life, he felt like if he ever saw the face behind the name, he would probably just let the Other Guy do the talking. Instead, at that moment, he had never felt so calm. It had been so long since he had been appreciated and not feared. It had been so long since he had been treated like an equal, that he took the other man's hand and shook it.

That had made Bruce think back on his own life. Would it not be grand to be given a second glance? To be able to make peace with himself, with all of the people he harmed? To be able to be noticed for his actions and not those of the Other Guy? His mother did always tell him to treat others the way he wanted to be treated.

"Some people deserve a second chance." Bruce smiled softly.

I was thinking about continuing this, but I thought it was alright to end it there. This is the first time I have ever written a fan fiction and the first time in a long time that I have written everything. Thanks for the read!


End file.
